How can you wash a weighted blanket?

Can you wash a weighted blanket? Are weighted blankets washable? How do you wash a weighted blanket?

These are some of the questions that we get, all the time.

If you own a Hush Blanket, or you’re thinking of buying one, the answer is… yes! Your Hush Blanket is machine washable, which makes keeping it clean amazingly easy.

If you own a weighted blanket from any brand or manufacturer, however, you may or may not be able to wash this blanket.

It all depends on what your blanket is made out of and how it’s constructed… so be sure to read the care label before you go ahead and dump it in the wash!

How to wash a weighted blanket

Hush Blankets come with a minky blanket cover and an inner weighted layer.

To wash the blanket cover, simply open the zipper and remove the inner weight from your blanket, then untie the hooks, and place the mink cover in the wash.

You can wash the blanket cover with any sort of soft detergent, but take care not to add bleach or fabric softener.

For optimal results, opt for a cold wash, and wash your blanket cover alone instead of tossing it in with your other laundry. (If you’ve got too many items in the wash, this creates extra friction, which causes unnecessary wear and tear on your blanket).

Once you’ve washed your blanket, the next step is to dry it. Don’t tumble dry it -- just hang it over your laundry line; that will do the trick.

Alright, so that’s your blanket cover sorted. How about your inner weighted layer?

Generally speaking, we find that this inner layer doesn’t get dirty much, because it’s protected by the minky cover. If you DO want to wash it, though, using a gentle hand wash in order to prolong the lifespan of the blanket.

Like the blanket cover, the inner weighted blanket should be hung up to dry. Don’t use a dryer.

What sort of weighted blankets can’t you wash?

The easiest way to figure out if you can wash a weighted blanket is to look at the instructions on the manufacturer’s website.

If you’ve already purchased your weighted blanket, and you have it with you, check the box that it came in to see if there are any care instructions.

Consider: weighted blanket fillings

Assuming you can’t find any instructions, for some reason, then you can make an educated guess on whether it’s possible to wash your blanket by looking at what materials are utilized to stuff the blanket.

Here at Hush Blankets, our weighted blankets are filled with glass sand (think glass microbeads, but even smaller). These beads hold up well when they’re washed, and blankets made with these beads generally dry well without any “clumping”.

If you’re looking for a weighted blanket that’s low-maintenance and easy to clean, we definitely recommend Hush Blankets (or any other brand that uses glass beads).

Another common weighted blankets filling is plastic poly pellets, which are made with ABS virgin plastic. Obviously, if your blanket is stuffed using plastic pellets, you wouldn’t want to wash it using hot water; this might cause the pellets to melt. To err on the side of caution, hand wash your blanket using cold water.

Finally, there are also weighted blankets stuffed with steel shot beads. These blankets tend to be heavier than blankets stuffed with other materials, so it’s not ideal to throw them into the washing machine.

If you MUST machine-wash your blanket, be sure to choose the most delicate setting -- there’s a chance that the steel shot beads can rip the fabric of the blanket and fall out if the blanket is tossed around too aggressively.

Consider: the fabrics

The fabric used to construct your weighted blanket also dictates whether you can wash your blanket (or how you should wash it).

First up, one of the most common fabrics used to make weighted blankets is minky; this material features long, thin fibres that are extremely soft.

This fabric washes easily, but be sure not to wash them with other items -- doing so will create friction and compromise the quality of the fabric. On top of that, avoid using fabric softeners when washing minky weighted blankets; these will tie the long fibres of the blanket together, which makes the material feel less soft to touch.

Next, another popular fabric for weighted blankets is cotton, which is generally machine-washable.

You’ll want to use a gentle cycle, though, and avoid washing your blanket in hot water, because this will cause it to shrink. If your blanket is made of 100% cotton, it’s possible to add half a cup of vinegar to the wash to keep colors bright.

Moving on, if you’ve got a fleece blanket, you’ll want to wash this in warm water.

Unlike the other fabric types, fleece can tolerate fabric softener, so go ahead and add some into the wash if you want your blanket to be softer. To reduce the likelihood of your blanket pilling, air dry it instead of using a dryer.

Next, wool weighted blankets aren’t as common as weighted blankets made from other fabrics, but they’re not completely unheard of.

Now, if you have a wool weighted blanket, chances are that you’ll have to hand wash it. Wool is an extremely delicate fabric that typically shrinks in the wash, so if you want to be on the safe side, hand wash is definitely the way to go.

Items made of wool are notoriously hard to dry, but here’s a trick to expedite the drying process: simply towel-dry your blanket before hanging it up to dry.

Last but not least, we have flannel weighted blankets, which are easy to wash. You can wash these in the washing machine on a gentle cycle; either cold or warm water will do. Either dry your blanket using a dryer, or hang it out to air-dry.

Consider: the weight of your weighted blanket

Here’s one last factor to keep in mind: the weight of your weighted blanket.

If your blanket is over, say, 20 lbs, then washing it at home might result in too much strain on your washing machine. In this case, it makes more sense to bring your weighted blanket to a laundromat, where you can wash it using a commercial sized machine.

Experience the magic of a weighted blanket for yourself

As long as you purchase the right weighted blanket, you won’t experience any hassle in washing or cleaning your blanket.

With Hush Blankets, for instance, your blanket covers can be easily popped into the wash, and your inner blankets wiped down. It’s not rocket science!

Want to experience the magic of a weighted blanket for yourself? Here’s the good news -- Hush Blankets come with a 100 Night Guarantee, which means that you can try out our weighted blanket completely risk-free.

Don’t like it? Just ship it back to us within 100 nights, and we’ll proceed a full refund (inclusive of shipping fees!) to you.